What is the Links League Handicap?
The Links League Handicap is a revised version of the traditional golf handicap system, customized for the specific needs of the Links League. It measures your playing ability relative to par and adjusts based on your performance in each round.
Use this rating to:
- Gauge your expected performance against opponents.
- Track your progress over time.
- Participate fairly in league events, ensuring competitive and enjoyable matches.
Every round you complete and submit recalculates your Links League Handicap Rating to reflect your latest performance. The more rounds you record, the more accurate your rating becomes. There’s no need to wait for a set number of holes; each round updates your handicap instantly.
Rating Calculation
Your Links League Handicap Rating is calculated by evaluating the difficulty of different golf courses and your scores from each round. Here’s how it works:
- Score Submission: Submit your score after each round.
- Net Double Bogey Adjustment: Exclude scores worse than double net bogey to prevent unusually high scores from skewing your handicap.
- Net Par Rule for Unplayed Holes: Add expected strokes for unplayed holes. See below for further details.
- Calculate Rating: Links League Rating=(Adjusted Score−Course Rating™)×(113 * Slope Rating®)
Handicap Calculation
Average Best Scores: Your handicap is based on the average of your best rounds as follows:
- 1-5 rounds: Use the best 1 round.
- 6-8 rounds: Use the best 2 rounds.
- 9-11 rounds: Use the best 3 rounds.
- 12-14 rounds: Use the best 4 rounds.
- 15-16 rounds: Use the best 5 rounds.
- 17-18 rounds: Use the best 6 rounds.
- 19 rounds: Use the best 7 rounds.
- 20 rounds: Use the best 8 rounds.
Each round updates your handicap to reflect your current playing ability accurately.
Calculation for 9-17 holes played
Scores from 9-17 holes can still be submitted toward your handicap if a full front or back 9 has been played. The system will generate an expected score for the holes not played based on your handicap. Here’s how it works:
- Recording Partial Rounds: Actual scores for played holes are recorded.
- Net Par for Unplayed Holes: Assigns a score equal to Net Par for unplayed holes.
- Adjustment for Unplayed Holes: Adds 0.1 strokes per unplayed hole to your total score, ensuring a realistic representation of performance.
- Total Score Calculation: Combines actual scores for played holes with Net Par scores for unplayed holes.
- Initial Handicap Calculation: If the first score submitted has 9-17 holes played, the initial handicap will be calculated from the nine holes played and the same rule for unplayed holes applied.
Example:
Here’s an example calculation for nine holes played with the net par rule applied for the unplayed holes.
Example Calculation:
Scoring Summary Graph
This graph represents a summary of the calculations discussed above. The bar lines show the last 20 ratings of scorecards submitted for a handicap. The filled bars are the scores used towards the calculations of the handicap. The dotted line shows the change in your handicap over time.
You can obtain a Links League Handicap Rating after a single round. Although this initial rating might not be a precise indicator, it provides a starting point.
Your Links League Handicap Rating updates based on your latest round. With 20 or more rounds entered, the newest score replaces the oldest score in your 20 most recent rounds. This can adjust your handicap depending on how your latest score compares to the replaced one.
Entering at least 10 of your latest rounds provides a more accurate Links League Handicap Rating. The rating considers the lowest 8 scores from your most recent 20 rounds.
Rounds with less than 9 holes will not be rated and do not count toward your handicap. You must play at least the front or back nine for a score to produce a rating.
No, scores from courses without an official rating, such as Par 3 or executive courses, are not included.
It’s your choice which rounds to include. For the most accurate representation, enter all recent scores.
The maximum is 54.0, and the minimum is +10.0.
Yes! Enter past scores in the Submit Round tab. They will count towards your handicap if they are within your latest 20 eligible rounds sorted by date.
No, the Links League Handicap does not update or link with GHIN.
No, a Links League handicap is not accepted in official USGA-sanctioned tournaments.
The Links League Handicap uses similar principles to traditional handicaps like those from the USGA®, incorporating Course Rating™ and Slope Rating® for each golf course. However, there are key distinctions between the Links League Handicap and traditional handicaps:
Links League Handicap | Traditional Handicap (USGA®) |
Calculates a handicap for as few as 1 round of golf. | Requires at least 5 rounds to calculate a handicap. |
Uses Net Par for unplayed holes | Uses Expected Score for unplayed holes |
No adjusted for bad weather | Equitable Stroke Control used to adjust for adverse weather conditions |
No Exceptional Score | Exceptional Score adjustment if score 7.0 strokes better than HCP recorded |
